Coca-Cola Stories: A Memory of Home

Coca-Cola touches the lives of millions of people each and every day. From special occasions to exceptional moments in everyday life, Coca-Cola is there. The brand has become a special part of people's lives.

Over the years, thousands of people have sent us personal stories about how Coca-Cola has affected their lives. Whether it is a favorite childhood memory, a reminder of family gatherings, or a recollection of good times with friends, Coca-Cola has touched the lives of people all over the world.

Here are some of the stories that Coca-Cola fans have shared with us over the years.

Have you ever been unable to communicate with others? On a vacation in a non-English-speaking area, we decided to stop and order lunch. Only having little bit of the local language, we ordered what we thought was hamburgers, fries and a pop. To our surprise, our lunch was not anything that we ordered. The server tried to ask what was not right, so we smiled and just said "Coca-Cola." She smiled and brought us two glasses of cold Coke. I guess no matter what language you speak, everyone speaks "Coke"! My husband and I were driving in the interior of Mexico. My husband did not know any Spanish and he ran a checkpoint stop sign. A carload of soldiers started after us. We were very young and very scared. When they stopped us, I explained to them in my very limited Spanish that my husband didn’t know to stop. I saw my husband get our cooler of ice-cold Coca-Cola. He gave each soldier a "Coke and a smile" and they laughed and let us go. Thanks Coke!

I emigrated to Canada when I was a child. After a seven-day sea voyage we landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When we were waiting to go through the immigration process, the Canadian immigration officer gave us a Coca-Cola. I had never tasted it in my life and have liked it ever since. That was in 1950.

When I was 13, I was visiting England where my mom is from. My mom, aunt and I went to France for the day. I was learning French. We stopped at a local café where no English was spoken. The only thing I could say in French was "Coca-Cola all around." The waiter smiled and brought us four big glasses of Coke. I don’t remember the words now, but to this day Coke is still my favorite!

I’m from the UK and in 1998 I went on a school trip to Zimbabwe for a rugby tour. The first place we stayed was truly in the middle of nowhere -- just a tiny little village. The food was terrible and the water was terrible, so a group of us went for a walk in the village. We found a tiny store which luckily sold Coke. We all agreed it was like heaven in a bottle and like being home again.

I was visiting my sister in Nicaragua, when I met my fiancé. I was feeling a little homesick and my sister and I were visiting her friends. I did not speak very good Spanish at the time, and when we were asked if we wanted some Coke it seemed to lift some of my homesickness. My fiancé went and bought it and gave it to us. We started talking and every time I went to visit him in Nicaragua, we would share Coca-Cola when I would get homesick.

When I traveled to Saudi Arabia (to accompany my husband to his job in 1983) I felt so lost and lonely for home. Then I noticed a big sign for Coca-Cola on the side of a building and that sign -- and soon after a cold bottle of Coca-Cola -- gave me a new perspective in that strange land. It was a connecting link to the USA and to the familiar, and helped me cope with living in a foreign country with customs different from America. Coca-Cola welcomed me and made me smile.

I was traveling the world with my college choir the summer of 1966. We visited the Great Pyramid outside Cairo, Egypt, and there I met a very cute American boy. We talked for a while and he asked if I’d like a Coke. I said yes. He had no money but quickly drew a picture of the Pyramids and included in the picture the little Coke vendor there. He then took the picture over to the Coke stand and traded it with the owner for two bottles of Coke. Best Coke I’ve ever had!

I am of Latin background. I am privileged to have parents who are both Latin but from different countries. It has given me the opportunity to learn about two diverse cultures. My mother is from El Salvador and my father is from Dominican Republic. Despite the fact that both are Latin, the cultures are very different. When I visited my mother's country for the first time and then my father's, the one thing I realized that the countries had in common was Coca-Cola.

My mother and I flew to Frankfurt, Germany, and took the train to Munich. I was 14 yrs old and spoke three words in German, but I was really thirsty. I found the dining car and asked for a Coke, not really sure if they would know what it was. He handed me a warm 8-ounce bottle and rattled off a price in German. I offered him a handful of change, indicated that he should take whatever was appropriate. To this day I have no idea how much he took, nor do I care. I was just grateful to have that unique, known flavor.

As a student at the National University of Mexico, fellow students and I challenged each other to reach the top of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. After the first series of very steep steps, we all thought we couldn't do it. However, an elderly woman on my team's side of the pyramid was selling cold Coca-Cola with ice from her shawl. My team stopped for a Coke and were refreshed enough to be the only team to finish reaching the top ... until the other team realized there was Coke somewhere nearby and searched for the woman until they found her. This woman said she came to the Pyramid every day at first with water. Then she got smart and brought Coke. Very smart businesswoman!

I am from Hong Kong. Years ago, I took my first trip to China with my girlfriend (now my wife) and my younger sister. We were going to Shanghai and Beijing in August, a Coca-Cola Stories hot summer. The normal way for us to get rid of our thirst in Hong Kong was drinking Coca-Cola. Unfortunately, getting a Coke in China at that time was extremely inconvenient. We had to get Coke in a five-star hotel. Every time after we enjoyed a Coke, we started to worry when we could get another one and where? That was the time that I missed Coke so much in my life. Of course, nowadays you can have a Coke anywhere in China.

My fiancee and a friend and I were hiking on Lama Island off Hong Kong in 1995 and we got lost and ended up on the other side of the island. We were dehydrated and exhausted. I flagged down a fisherman to see if he could help us. He didn't speak English, but took us to a solitary little house, where a man opened the door and after some "sign language," he opened his fridge where he had a six-pack of Coca-Cola. He sold it to us and we were so thrilled. We then could renew our hike and return up the hill to the other side. I don't know how we would have done it without Coca-Cola.

In 1994 I was traveling in Bali, and a friend and I hiked up a volcano on the island to watch the sunrise. As we neared the top, it was just starting to get light and the going was tough because it was steep and the terrain was loose lava rock, so the footing was tricky. A native in rubber thong sandals sprinted past us headed to the top. A tin bucket was balanced on his head and the necks of Coke bottles protruded from the top. As we watched the sunrise from the peak, we sat on crude stools under a lean-to - and drank Coca-Cola.

My first memory of Coke was when I was 3 years old just arriving by boat from Taiwan to Portland, Oregon, in 1959. I remember taking the bus from Portland to San Francisco and drinking bottles of Coke along the way. Very refreshing!

I was 5 years old and moving to Sicily, Italy. My new relatives were picking us up at a ship port. I did not know one word of Italian at that time and my uncle asked me what I would like. My mother translated my uncle's question to me and I quickly answered the question, "Coca-Cola." He smiled, laughed and bought me a Coke. Thirty-eight years have passed and he still tells the story back in Sicily, Italy.

I love Coca-Cola because it is a drink I can get anywhere. I remember a vacation my husband and I went on to Malaga, Spain. We did not know any Spanish as we headed on our journey from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Malaga. When we reached our first leg of the trip to Chicago, we learned our plane had been canceled. The airlines booked two very young Americans to Brussels, Belgium. Arriving in Belgium, they herded us to a Spanish airline to Madrid, Spain. From Madrid we flew to Malaga. We were to meet our party in Seville, but we had to take a train because all connections were gone. With no way to communicate, very little money, very tired, hungry and thirsty, we knew we could get a Coke and they would know what we wanted. I learned the "lemon" word so I could get a Sprite as well. Thank you for being everywhere, where we know we can get a great drink anytime, anyplace, anywhere!

I was 12 years old when I came to the USA from Germany in 1959. Coca-Cola was my favorite drink in Germany, and I was happy to find out that they imported it to the USA also. Then I found out it's from here! I still remember the German Coca-Cola song from the radio after 43 years. It's amazing that I can still sing it today after all these years.

My husband and I were traveling in the Galapogos Islands, 600 miles from mainland Ecuador. During a four-hour trip in a tiny fishing boat, tossed about in 5- foot swells under the equatorial sun, all I could think about was the cold Coke I'd have when we got to land. Finally, I got to shore in Porto Ayora and we went to the first cafe. Chris had lunch, but all I wanted was that Coke. The waiter said he was out of Coke. I must have looked as bad as I felt because, three minutes later, he rode back to the cafe on his bike, Coke in a glass bottle with a straw in one hand, handlebar in the other. To this day, I use the image of the Ecuadorian on his bike with my Coke to get me through a tough spot.

When I visited Japan (in 1995) with an American co-worker, we had to eat lunch every day at the chemical plant with our Japanese co-workers. They gave us green tea to drink for the first three days. (We were to be there for two weeks.) On the fourth day, I asked if I could have a Coca-Cola, and they gladly gave me and my American co-worker Coca-Cola from that day until we left! My co-worker thanked me with joy!

The summer of 1994 I was picked to go to Brazil. We were going there to play football (soccer). On the plane we could not understand the flight attendants. But they could understand the word Coca-Cola. In Brazil, everything was in Portuguese -- except the word Coca-Cola. It was a good thing, because you never knew what you could expect if you ordered anything but Coke. I love Coke -- the real thing.

When I was in college I spent a summer in Kiev, Ukraine. I had very few reminders of home. Just to make a telephone call I had to go to the downtown post office to make a two-minute call. There were no American newspapers or TV reports. Many meals brought new foods and tastes to my palate. I had no choice in what I ate or drank, as the university prepared all the meals. But my one comfort each meal was a bottled Coke. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, the drink provided by the school was Coke. And although few American products were sold on the streets, if I wanted a drink while walking around town, I could always find a red and white kiosk selling Coke. Even now as I remember that trip, one of my strongest memories is the Coke I had each day.

In 1986, I went on a 30-day camping safari in Africa for my honeymoon. The only beverage choices that existed were hot bottled beer and bottled Coca-Cola. For 30 days, I looked forward to having my bottles of Coca-Cola to quench my thirst. One day, in the middle of the bush in Rwanda, we passed a small wooden stand that was painted Coca-Cola red and white. Even in a foreign language, I knew that the text translated into "Enjoy Coke." I was so happy to see a reminder of home. I had to take a picture of that Coke stand, which I framed and hung in my office.

While traveling through Europe -- and getting a bit homesick, I might add -- I always felt right at home whenever I saw Coca-Cola for sale. That great, ice-cold taste brought me right back home ... at least until I finished the glass.

Walking village to village in the Doggon Region of Mali (West Africa), we came upon a family and sat with them to get out of mid-day heat. No English was spoken except for our guide who, having conversed with the village family, turned to the two of us and said, "Want a Coke?" We just started laughing -- after we said "yes" of course.

I am an Ethiopian living in the USA for the past five years. As any immigrant, I passed a lot of hardship to adjust to life in my host country -- missing all my family, cultural shock, etc. From this different and new world, the only one thing familiar to me and found in the USA was Coca-Cola! The first sip took me all the way back to east Africa -- a little city of mine -- bringing me all my childhood memories and fun and giving me a new flavor to my new life. Thank you a bunch; it means a lot to me. I will never forget that moment. You are really an international language.

In 1997 I went to Kenya as a missionary. I had never been so homesick in all my life, until I found a grocery store that sold Coke, and it brought me home, just for that little moment in time. Every time I drank a Coke, I was brought home.

When I was a boy of 7 my family moved from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Sydney, Australia. I was scared but also excited. What a difference going from one world into another such a long way from where I grew up. It was a rough couple of years. There was a corner store down from our house. My brothers, sister and I would walk down on the weekends and get a Coke. We would drink it in the store because it was cheaper. This made me feel as if we were back home!

I was stationed in Germany in the early 80s. I was in my early 20s and this was my first time out to the city alone, and I was lost sitting on a park bench next to an old man. I did not speak much German. He looked at me, and pulled two cans of Coke out of his bag. I smiled and we drank them, and he got me home! Drinking that Coke was like a little bit of home. I always remember that nice old man, and whenever I notice someone lost, I try my best to help them out. That nice old man broke the ice with a simple thing -- a can of Coke -- but it was much more than that.

I was 18, living in France as an au-pair girl. One day I took the train for a couple of days to Italy. The trip was a disaster! First of all, being the naive little American girl that I was, I thought that Italy would be hot ... in November! I arrived wearing sandals and froze to death. One night in a pensione, I lost my money and train ticket back to France. I was in Torino, but the closest Embassy was in Genova. After spending all day running around to the police station, the train station, etc., the next day I got on the train to Genova, with no money. But the Embassy was closed! I was put in a boarding house for girls run by nuns, but I was sad, hungry and thirsty, having not had anything for two days now. I was alone in my room at dinnertime (since I had no money to eat in the cafeteria) when a little nun entered with a tray of food. I thanked her and she left. Five minutes later, she came back -- with a bottle of Coke in her hands! I cried!

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.